Chapter 29: The End of Unreasonable Malice (3)

“Ugh… uuuugh….”

Fragments of broken machinery are scattered across the corridor. A girl walks there.

The girl is holding someone in her arms.

“I’m sorry… Please forgive me….”

Something, whether it’s blood or tears, drips from the girl’s eyes.

If the person in the girl’s arms were alive, she would have wiped away the tears and soothed her.

However, she is no longer alive.

The girl, Takanashi Hoshino, came out of the underground with her senior. Then, bright sunlight shines upon them.

‘Come to think of it, Hime-senpai really liked this sunlight… She said it was really refreshing to take a nap under such direct sunlight….’

‘But Senpai…’

“…….”

It was so sudden.

When Hime disappeared, Hoshino fell into a state of anxiety. She wondered if she would reappear like that, just like Yume-senpai.

So, she searched for Hime’s traces for several hours, perhaps all day.

Then, she was fortunate enough to find the underground base where Hime was confined.

And there, she found her senior dying.

…….

That’s right.

Takanashi is late again.

When Yume died, and when Hime died.

She was always late.

“Senpai… ugh, Hime-senpai….”

She can’t see it anymore.

Hime lying on the student council room sofa, napping leisurely.
Yume taking pictures of Hime like that.

It’s all my fault.

Hoshino muttered quietly.

“…….”

Looking down, Hime comes into view. Hime is in Hoshino’s arms. She was smiling, as if she had a peaceful death.

“Why, why are you smiling like that… I don’t understand, Senpai….”

Hoshino asked in a trembling voice.

“I, I… I only did awful things to Senpai… I was a rude junior… why that smile…?”

Of course, there was no answer. Expecting an answer from someone who is already dead is the problem itself.

But Hoshino’s problems started at the point where both her seniors died.

“Please… Please tell me, Senpai….”

She closes her eyes tightly. Fragments of emotion trickle down between her tightly closed eyelids.

Then, they fall onto the dead senior’s cheek.

“Senpai… what should I do now…?”

Hoshino’s pitiful voice echoes.

“Senpai……”

“Hoshino-senpai!”

Her senior’s eyes flutter open at her sharp junior’s voice.

“Are you taking a nap again? Really… the regular meeting starts soon, so wake up quickly!”

“Yeah, Hoshino-senpai. Since you slept that much, give up on growing taller.”

“Aha ha… Shiroko-senpai… it’s rude to say that to Hoshino-senpai….”

“Hoshino-senpai….”

At the voices of her juniors, Hoshino stretches and yawns.

The wind enters the classroom as the window is open. Thanks to that, the curtains flutter softly.

Hoshino looked at her juniors. They are very precious juniors to Hoshino. Especially those who helped her so much when she was having a hard time.

“…Uheh~ This old man has been sleeping more these days because of old age~”

“Even though there’s not much age difference between us….”

“Yeah. Serika-chan, let’s just gloss over this. It seems Hoshino-senpai has dementia.”

“Uheh~ That might hurt a little…”

Hoshino gets up from her seat and approaches her juniors. The juniors greet Hoshino with a smile.

Hoshino also smiles brightly.

Yume-senpai.

Hime-senpai.

I was really having a hard time.

I know I did something wrong.

Still, I worked so hard. So… would you mind giving me a compliment once? Would you mind accepting my act once?

I don’t even expect forgiveness.

Please… won’t you encourage me once, saying that I’ve suffered…?

…….

Yes… I know that the seniors are no longer in this world.

Still, I want to meet you once, even in a dream….

Senpai….

…….

“Aha ha.”

Hoshino laughed emptily. She thought useless thoughts. Hoshino shook her head and erased her thoughts.

She has juniors that she has to take responsibility for.

She has to overcome. She can’t be tied to the past forever. She must move forward from the past someday.

That’s the lesson the teacher gave her.

So….

“Huh?”

Hoshino looked at her phone. A Momo Talk came from the teacher.

She was about to reply appropriately because she was in a regular meeting.

If the content wasn’t that important to her.

“Ho, Hoshino-senpai?”

Hoshino, who got up from her seat, stared blankly at her phone.

Her juniors looked at her with curiosity, but Hoshino is now focused on one place.

That is….

-Hoshino, are you free?

-Uheh~ Sensei is contacting me first. What day is it today~?

-I think it’s just a guess, but… I found a student related to your… Hime Senpai.

The remnants of the past were not letting go of Hoshino’s ankles, who were trying to rise from the past.

“It’s not easy.”

Seia muttered quietly. She is investigating the color in the place where the forbidden books are kept.

But she didn’t learn anything new in particular.

Most of it was already known facts or things that couldn’t be deciphered.

“Huh…?”

Then, Seia narrows her eyes and looks at the contents written in the book.

There is information about the color’s guide. It’s also the content added after the color invasion.

The color’s guide.

The one who leads the color to the world and brings about its destruction.

This is the one the Sensei faced during the color invasion.

“This was also added.”

Seia closed the book. There is no more information to be obtained here.

Seia thought so and took a step. Then, suddenly, an ominous feeling arose.

Seia looked at the book she was looking at a moment ago.

One sentence passes through her mind.

The one who leads the color to the world and brings about its destruction. The color’s guide.

Seia stands still for a moment, looking at the forbidden book with growing anxiety.

But then she decided it was just a whim and took a step.

I sigh as I look at the room that has become a mess.

I want to clean it up right away, but since it’s going to be a room that I won’t need soon, I wonder if I should do that.

So, I throw myself on the messy bed.

Then, I look at what the black entity handed me.

It’s a rope.

It looks very sturdy. It seems to be made of something special.

…….

To be honest, I don’t believe that I have to face death.

It’s the perfect term to say I have no sense of reality.

I can accurately distinguish between dreams and memories. So I confirmed my death in my memories, not in a dream.

But I’m alive.

Maybe I’ll resurrect even if I die. My memories support this, but my instincts are telling me so.

That death is an opportunity.

I touch the rope that has a rough texture.

Through death, I will be able to awaken my memories to some extent.
To be honest, I want to face death and awaken my memories right now.

But before facing death, I will meet those who are close to me and tell them why I’m doing this.

Wouldn’t they be less surprised to see my corpse that way?

Since the phone is broken and unusable, I will tell everyone the truth tomorrow.

That I will come back to life when I die.

…But will they believe me? Resurrection is a phenomenon that can never be achieved in this world.

If I said that, I think they won’t believe me and will treat me like a mental patient.

Well, it doesn’t matter.

It’s better than not saying anything.

I close my eyes, thinking like that. Since there’s not much time left to sleep well in Trinity, I have to enjoy it while I can.